Ingredients - All purpose flour ( maida) - 1.5 cup Butter - 100 gm Eggs - 3 Castor or granulated sugar - 1 cup Lemon juice - 2 tbsp Lemon zest - 1 tbsp Buttermilk - 1/2 cup Baking powder - 2 tsp Baking soda - 1/2 tsp Vanilla essence - few drops For frosting -
Cream cheese - 1 cup Unsalted butter - 85 g Icing or granulated sugar - 1 cup Lemon juice - 3 tbsp Vanilla essence - few drops To make home made cream cheese - Milk full cream - 1/2 ltr white vinegar - 1 tbsp Boil 1/2 ltr full cream milk, when it comes to rolling boil, switch off the flame, add vinegar and stir it nicely till the mixture has separated completely . when it curdles put the mixture into a sieve, let it strain and cool completely for 10-15 minutes. Transfer it into a blender and blend it until its smooth and creamy. Blend it further if it's grainy. it is ready to use. Method - 1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, sieve flour, baking powder and baking soda. 2. In a big bowl take butter and beat it on a high speed for 2 minutes with an electric beater. 3. Add sugar beating it continuously. 4. Add eggs beating nicely after each addition. 5. Gradually add half of the flour, add the lemon zest, lemon juice and buttermilk, give it all a good mix, then add remaining half, little at a time and mix it thoroughly. 6. Grease and line two baking tins of 6 inch and 8 inches. 7. Divide the batter into it and bake it in a preheated oven until it is thoroughly baked. Insert a toothpick to confirm it's done, if it comes out clean then take it out and let it come to room temperature. Frosting and assemble - 1. In a big bowl beat butter for few minutes until very light. 2. Add cream cheese and beat it further until well combined. 3. Add sugar, lemon juice and vanilla and beat it from low speed to high speed for 2 minutes until smooth and fluffy and of spreading consistency. 4. The cake is ready to assemble, in a serving plate place the bigger layer of cake, trim some of the upper part of the cake to level it, spread the cream cheese frosting on it generously to cover it from the top and sides. 5. Place the smaller cake right on top of it, trim it too, cover it with the lemon cheese cream frosting from the top and sides completely. 6. Transfer the remaining frosting in a piping bag with a star nozzle fitted into it. 7. Pipe big swirls on the edges of the cake and place a lemon slice on each of the swirls to complete the look of it. 8. Your beautiful lemon cheese cake is ready to serve, just put it in fridge for an hour before serving. It's a beautiful cake, can be enjoyed on any summer afternoon. If you want to skip the frosting the cake can be enjoyed without it as well. It has a great tangy flavour.
Method - 1. Take a heavy bottomed Karahi and heat 1 tbsp ghee in it. 2. Break sewai into small pieces and fry in karahi in a low heat for 5 minutes until it turns golden brown colour, keep it aside, 3. Chop all almonds, raisins, pistachios and cashews into small pieces and dates and coconut into long thin strips. 4. Put remaining ghee and lightly fry the almond, cashews and coconut, taking great care not to burn it. 5. Take a heavy bottomed pan and boil the milk in it. 6. Let it boil for 3-4 minutes, put sugar and dry fruits after saving some dry fruits for garnishing. 7. Let it boil for 5-7 minutes on a low heat until the dates are tender and the milk is slightly reduced. 8. Add fried sewai, crushed cardamom, saffron strands, condensed milk and let it cook on a very low heat for 7-8 minutes without covering the pan. 9. Transfer it into serving bowls and garnish it with the remaining dry fruits. 10. Serve it warm, it can be chilled also if you like to eat it that way. 11. It tends to get thicker when it comes to room temperature, add some milk if the sheer khurma gets too thick. 12. If you want to turn this dessert into creamy and heavenly delight, use of full fat milk is a must. 13. As the dates and raisins increase the sweetness of sheer khurma be careful with sugar, first put 2-3 tbsp only then increase according to your taste.
Ingredients - Chicken boneless - 250 g cut into bite size cubes Curd thick - 2 tbsp Cream - 3 tbsp Garlic paste - 2 tsp Ginger Paste - 1 tsp Lemon juice - 2-3 tbsp Garam masala - 1 tsp Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup + Green chilies - 2 (make a paste) Chili flakes - 1/4 tsp Salt - 1/2 tsp Egg - 1 beaten Bread crumbs - 1 cup Oil - for frying Skewers - few dipped in water to prevent burning
Method - 1. Wash and clean chicken, dry it in a kitchen towel. 2. Replace it in a big dry bowl. 3. Marinate the chicken by first putting lemon juice in it then followed by all the listed ingredients, except cream . 4. Mix it nicely and keep it for 4-5 hours or overnight in fridge. If using chicken breasts, it needs a longer marination time, preferably overnight. 5. Take it out and mix it again, adjust the salt, Mix the cream in it nicely until incorporated well. 6. Thread the chicken pieces into wooden skewers, 3 to 4 pieces. 7. Take a non stick frying pan and heat oil in it. 8. Cover the chicken into bread crumbs and with the help of a knife pat it to bring it in shape. 9. Dip it in beaten egg and put it in the frying pan, cover for a while and shallow fry it in a medium low heat, tossing and turning in between until cooked well from both the sides and turns a golden brown colour.
Gram Flour ( besan ) - 1 cup Curd - 2 cups Fresh ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp Cumin powder - 1 tsp Red chili powder - 1 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Baking Soda - a pinch Oil - for frying Sugar granulated - 1 tbsp Salt - 1/2 tsp or to taste Black Salt - 1/4 tsp for tempering Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp Asafoetida - a pinch Whole red chilies - 2 Clarified butter ( ghee) - 2 tsp
Method -
1. Sieve the gram flour in a bowl, add ginger garlic paste, turmeric, little cumin powder and chili powder and salt to taste. Beat it with your hands for five minutes, so that it's light and fluffy, check by putting 1/2 tsp batter into water, if it floats, its good to go, add a pinch of baking soda and give it a good mix. 2. Heat oil in a karahi. Deep fry all the pakoras, till light golden brown, little at a time in two - three batches. 3. Take a bowl half filled with normal water, dip the pakoras in it just for a minute as soon as they are fried, squeeze the water out of it, and keep it aside. 4. Mix the curd nicely to avoid any lumps, mix little water if it's too thick. Add sugar, salt, black salt, 1/4 tsp of cumin powder and red chilli powder in it, saving some for the garnish. 5. Take a serving bowl, arrange all the pakoras in it, pour all curd over it, sprinkle cumin and red chili powder, garnish with coriander leaves. 6. Take a small frying pan, heat ghee in it, add cumin seeds, whole chilies and asafoetida, temper it, spreading it all over the dahi fulk. Chill it before serving.
Ingredients - Milk full cream - 1 ltr Sugar - 100 gm Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp diluted in 1 tsp water Ghee - 2 tbsp Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp Method - 1. Heat a heavy bottomed karahi or pan, preferably an iron karahi. 2. Pour the milk in it and let it come to a boil on a medium high heat, stirring it continuously. 3. Put the flame on a medium low and keep simmering and stirring until it is reduced to half and is thickened. 4. Pour the diluted lemon water into the milk, keep it on low flame, stirring it at the same time as the milk will start curdling at this point. 5. Simmer it for few more minutes, add sugar in it. 6. Keep cooking and stirring as the sugar is dissolved, add ghee, keeping it on low flame as the milk splutters a lot. 7. keep working on it until milk thickens completely and leaves the sides of the pan. 8. Add cardamom powder and let it cook for 2 minutes to let it turn into light golden brown. 9. Grease a loaf tin and transfer the mixture into it, wrap the loaf tin with a heavy kitchen towel so that the heat is trapped into it. It will ensure a golden colour when cooled down. 10. Let it remain like that for 3-4 hours until it is cooled and comes to a room temperature. 11. Separate the sides with a knife and unmould it into a plate, cut it into pieces and serve.
